


Olfactory

by Orange_Chaos_Cat



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Barry has some emotions, Family, Gen, Poison, Temporary Character Death, Vomiting, fuck sazed, glamour springs, lich barry, there's definitely blupjeans but I didn't tag it cause it's very minor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-10-30 17:06:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17832656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orange_Chaos_Cat/pseuds/Orange_Chaos_Cat
Summary: Barry Bluejeans stumbles into the town of Glamour Springs just before tragedy strikes. Forty-one people are poisoned. A lich follows his brother to try and talk to him. He doesn't have much success.





	Olfactory

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I haven't written fanfic in about 7 or 8 years (it was Warriors fanfiction) but I got really inspired and had some ideas for taz! This took a while but I'm pretty proud of it, let me know what you think? Thanks for reading!

A person reacts differently to scent than to other senses. Smells route through a different part of the brain than things a person sees or touches, and can cause immediate sensations of emotion or memories, even if one does not know how they know that particular smell. Barry Bluejeans did not know much about the anatomy of the brain, he was just an adventurer and fighter, not any sort of scientist. He did know, however, that the strong scent of garlic and chicken he smelled while wandering through the town of Glamour Springs, following a lead that his talking coin had mentioned, sent an immediate pang of familiarity to his chest. He had no idea where this came from; he hadn’t known anyone who cooked like that while growing up, and his dedication to his mysterious mission meant that he didn’t frequent any nice restaurants.

He had been getting close to giving up and moving on to the next town that had been circled on the map in the cave where he woke up when he smelled the delicious scent. Barry had had no luck with his search so far, and considering that he didn’t even know what or who he was looking for, he figured he could use something to keep him motivated. 

In a nearby square a large crowd had gathered. As he approached he found out both the source of the amazing smell and who exactly had caused both it and the surrounding crowd. An elf was standing in a stage coach, giving a flashy presentation of his cooking skills. The side of the wagon proudly displayed the show’s name, “Sizzle it up with Taako”. Barry could only assume that the elf, who was gesturing wildly and transmuting different ingredients, was Taako. 

Taako was an amazing performer; the entire crowd was enthralled by both his magic and his witty remarks. Barry grinned as Taako poured some olive oil into his hand, then into a measuring cup to show that he had the perfect amount to add to the sauce for his chicken. He used a quick bit of magic to speed up the cooking, then he tossed it in the air to split it up into small portions to pass out.

Barry took a bite of the chicken that had been handed out. It was delicious, so he finished it off quickly. Then he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He stumbled a bit and bumped into a woman standing near him. He tried to apologize, but again pain gripped his stomach. The woman didn’t even seem to notice, as she vomited and fell to her knees. Barry looked around and saw the rest of the crowd in a similar state. He stumbled towards the side of the wagon and saw a man standing there, hurriedly packing up the cooking supplies there and muttering in anger. Barry tried to reach out for help, for any explanation, but he choked on his breath and fell to his knees.

Taako had a horrified expression on his face, and desperately clutched at his hair.

“No, no, no I did everything right! What could it-the elderberries? No, no, no shit shit!” he stammered in confusion. He had gotten out of his wagon to try and help a teenager at the front of the crowd but was quickly backing away. The last thing Barry saw as he died was Taako hurriedly shoving his supplies off the counter and getting in the front of the wagon with the man who had been in the back.

And then Barry woke up. As he rose out of his body in his lich form, energy crackling around him, his memories flooded back. This part was always the most difficult, keeping calm as thoughts of Lup and the rest of his family came back, threatening to tear him apart in an intense emotional storm. He realized that he had had no success in his last venture with his body, and his frustration grew. Then suddenly, he realized what had just happened and who he had just seen. _Taako_. 

Barry looked around, turning his spectral form around in an attempt to discern where Taako’s wagon had gone. All he could see were the bodies of the rest of the crowd, and he heard shouts in the distance. He definitely didn’t want to be seen as a lich surrounded by dead bodies, he didn’t need living authorities after him along with death authorities, so he quickly made himself invisible and turned toward where he thought the wagon had gone. 

He finally caught sight of the wagon, the horses pulling it panting as it barreled around a corner towards the edge of town. He followed it and snagged the back as it slowed down to turn another corner. Barry floated through into the small kitchen area. He wasn’t sure where he was going with this. If Barry’s theory about why he couldn’t remember his family or his past when he was in his body was correct, Taako wouldn’t remember him, so trying to tell him anything about his identity would be pointless. When he thought about it more, Barry figured that he just wanted to make sure that Taako was okay. Obviously he wasn’t going to be emotionally stable at the moment, but if Taako was going to get caught for this Barry wanted to know. As he silently floated closer to the front, Barry heard snippets of a conversation between Taako and the man who was driving. Taako’s voice, which had previously been so confident and bright, now shook with confusion and fear.

“We gotta get as far away from here as possible my dude. This is not Taako’s scene, I don’t know what the shit is going on and frankly, I’m not a fan!”

The person sitting next to him said nothing, just continued to stare down the road, shoulders stiff and hands tight on the reigns. Taako stared out the window, scowling, his long ears twitching as he tried to listen for anyone following them. The stage coach was alone on an empty stretch of road, and Taako seemed to relax a miniscule amount. Barry knew better though, he had known this elf, his brother, for a century. He was alone and he was terrified; Barry worried that Taako would drown in this guilt. 

The driver, who Taako had referred to as Sazed, stopped the wagon in an empty clearing, far enough away from any towns that they wouldn’t be bothered. Taako climbed out of his seat gracelessly and sat down with a heavy thump. Barry, still invisible, turned toward him, but then saw Sazed grabbing some items out of the back of the stage coach and stuffing them hurriedly into a bag. Barry floated over right as a small bottle of clear liquid disappeared into the bag. 

He only saw the label for an instant, but Barry immediately recognized it from years in the lab on the Starblaster, where he and Lup spent countless hours determining all they could about the worlds that the crew landed on. The chemical was arsenic, and the only reason that someone working on a cooking show would have arsenic would be-

Barry almost lost his hold on the invisibility spell. Of course this wasn’t Taako’s fault. Even without the memories of how skilled a wizard he truly was, there was no way that he would mess up a simple transmutation badly enough to kill 40 people. Barry wanted to do something about Sazed, but he figured that would look pretty bad considering Taako had no idea who he was, and also, he was an undead abomination. 

Before Barry could make a decision, Sazed hopped back into the driver’s seat and took off in the direction of the nearest town. Taako looked up at the sound of his retreating footsteps, then sighed and hung his head again. 

“Figures,” he muttered to himself. “Who would want to have to stick around with a murderer? He could have at least left my cart though…” 

Barry knew that dropping the invisibility spell was a bad idea, but he did it anyway. “Taako, you-“ he began, but was cut off by Taako’s loud exclamation of “What the fuck!” In any other situation the lich would have grinned at his reaction, but this must have looked pretty bad from Taako’s perspective. 

“Who the fuck are you and why do you know my name you ghosty fuck!” Taako exclaimed, standing and pulling out his wand.

“Uhh, I’m…Barry. I saw your show.”

“Listen Barry-also what kind of ghost is named Barry? Not important. Are you gonna kill me?”

“What?” Barry asked, surprised at how casually Taako had asked that, considering he was very obviously freaked out. Taako shrugged, feigning relaxation but keeping a white-knuckled grip on his wand and a stiff set to his shoulders that not many would have noticed.

“Like, did you have family-uh, ghost family in the crowd or something? And now they’re double dead? Cause I’m sorry, I fucked up, and now I have to figure out what to do with that whole situation, but if you’re gonna kill me I’d rather you just get it over with now instead of stalling.”

If Barry had a face it would be displaying the shock he felt. He had never seen Taako so hopeless. But then again, Taako always had Lup, or the knowledge that she would be back in a few months. This Taako, this disgraced chef without anyone to back him up, thought that he had nobody. He didn’t even know how much he had actually lost.

Barry gathered himself before speaking, relying on the fond memories of his family and of his love. He stayed away from most of his Taako memories, trying to remember who the elf used to be in comparison to who stood before him was not going to keep him together. When Barry felt sufficiently calmed down, he raised his hands placatingly and spoke.

“N-no listen, Taako. I’m not gonna kill you, that won’t solve either of our problems. I don’t think I can explain what I’m trying to do here-unless, you still don’t remember Lup do you”

Taako looked confused, but not particularly upset. “I don’t remember _kshrudkjk_?”. He contorted his mouth, and Barry really didn’t know what he was trying to do. 

“Huh. Well that explained nothing, but I guess the answer is still no. As for why I’m here, Taako, I guess I just wanted to make sure you were okay, and you didn’t get arrested or anything. That would be bad.”

“Make sure-make sure I’m okay?” Taako sneered incredulously. “Why the fuck do you care if I’m okay? I’m a chef, ex-chef now, who just killed a shit load of people with my cooking, and some rando ghost in red wants to come check up on me? You’ve got to be shitting me.”

“Taako listen, I know it’s a lot, but this wasn’t your fault- Sazed did this. Lup wouldn’t want you to handle things like-“

Taako cut him off. “Enough with the static ghosty!” I’m tired of your shit, if you’re not here to off me just leave me alone, let a guy mourn his career in peace!”

Taako cast magic missile at the red specter. It was a fraction of what Barry knew he could do, and he avoided it easily, but he recognized when it was time to go. He would stay invisible and follow Taako, just long enough to see that he made it somewhere safe, but Barry had a mission, and this was going nowhere.

“Take care of yourself Taako, I’m-I’m really sorry.”

Barry turned invisible, and Taako, clutching his bag, turned and walked away. 

Years later, after a family is reunited and an unstoppable enemy is defeated, an ex-chef / ex-adventurer turns to his brother in law, on a lazy day spent together with the most important person in the world to both of them.

“Hey Barry?” Taako asks, not looking up from painting Lup’s nails.

“Yeah?”

“Do you remember when you chased me down and tried to help me after I thought I murdered a bunch of people but you did a really bad job at it and I thought you were gonna kill me?”

“Oh yeah, um. Sorry? I’ll try better next time?”

Taako rolls his eyes as Lup laughs. 

“Sure dude, I’m sure the next time that exact situation happens, I’ll be very grateful for you checking on me.”

Barry smiles, recognizing the unsaid message of thanks. 

“Sure thing, bud.”


End file.
